They Served Their Country Honorably

Seven veterans under VA’s care commit suicide

They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane’s VA Hospital have committed suicide.

What does one say when they have watched others go through All This Before, and having beared witness through these many years!

Any who have read my attempts at putting the reality to words over these past 6 years, long before the carnage again started, or read and listened to others saying pretty much the same damn thing, you know how I feel!

“After returning home from his tour of duty in Iraq, Tim was given the following choice — either commit to a two-year enlistment in the Washington National Guard and receive a stability from deployment for that amount of time or be stop-lossed and face certain redeployment within a year,” Hergert wrote in a letter to Sen. Patty Murray, a member of the Senate’s Veterans Affairs committee. “Tim chose to enlist in the Washington National Guard unit and was assigned to Spokane, Washington.”

Only back than, till now, my brothers and sisters, weren’t forced into ‘Stop Loss’ nor ‘Mutiple Extended Tours’, back in the Debacle Occupation the Country said they’d Never Forget and Learn The lessons Of, one had to Volunteer for more than one tour, the few I know that did were KIA on their second or third, they couldn’t cope in the Real World!

“Mom, I don’t think I can go back to Iraq,” Jacqueline Hergert recalls her son’s words.

Last month, Juneman was found hanging in his Pullman apartment.

“My son hanged himself in his apartment on March 5, 2008. He was not discovered for 20 days, and then only because he didn’t pay his rent for the month,” Hergert continued in her letter to Sen. Murray. “He missed numerous scheduled medical appointments at the VA hospital. He missed his weekend duty with the National Guard unit. Yet, no one came to check on him, not even the doctors or counselors who were seeing him for his injuries and trauma.”

These tragic incidents are Not The Fault of the Greater Majority who Work In The Veterans Administration System, most are extremely dedicated not only to their work but those They Serve!

This is Totally In The Lap of the Leadership, the Political Appointee’s, and those in the Administration parts of the systems, especially if hired because of Political affiliation these past 7 years, not only VA but across the board in this failing Government, Total Incompetence, and an Apathedic Freightened Country that Refuses to Hold Accountibility on those as that Incompetence Continues, Unabated!!

“I have to live with the knowledge that he died alone and in despair and feeling without hope,” Hergert said.

The lead to the tragic story above, and those I’m placing below, come from Veterans For Common Sense who are spearheading the Lawsuit, now in trial, against the VA. Visit their site and throw a few duckets of that Tax Rebate their way, they could use it as Veterans Fighting For Veterans, along with other organizations you might be inclined to Support.

One for those Not Serving and Suffering, as our Military Personal and Their Families Are, You’re Way Overdue your Sacrifice! {Service Members and Families of Disregard previous sentence, You’ve Given This Country Way Too Much All Ready!!}

Two, it’s the Best Way to put that money that should Already be Going to these returning Vets to a use that is extremely worthwhile, you certainly don’t need to shop for more crap in your lives!

Mental Health

The War Within: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

James Sperry’s nightmares always take him back to Fallujah.

Combat Vets Face Hurdles as Students

Colleges learning to deal with PTSD, lost limbs, brain injuries.

Many Troops Never Get Help for Mental Wounds

Army Cpl. Robb Rudd finished basic training within 48 hours of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Inner War Knows No Truce

The movie “Stop Loss” filled the silver screen with haunting images of bad dreams, alcoholism and family strife in the wake of a tour of duty in Iraq.

Bill Would Expand PTSD Benefits

House lawmakers have reworked a bill that would make it easier for veterans to get benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder by not requiring them to prove their exposure to a stressor.

Editorial Column: Half of Vets Suffering Brain and Mind Injuries Go Untreated, But Pentagon Pretends Nothing’s Going on

Penny Coleman

An activist travels to the DoD’s annual suicide prevention conference, only to find the military brass living in a parallel universe.

Department of Veterans Affairs

Mitchell to VA: ‘My Patience is at an End’

Rep Harry Mitchell (D-5) has given Deparment of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake an option: Produce documents related to suicides among veterans by May 9, or he will pursue “other options.”

Iraq War

Investigators: Millions in Iraq Contracts Never Finished

Millions of dollars of lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts were never finished because of excessive delays, poor performance or other factors, including failed projects that are being falsely described by the U.S. government as complete, federal investigators say.

Talk Doesn’t Mean Action for Vets

Judging by sheer numbers alone, this is most definitely the Year of the Veteran at the state Capitol.

Department of Defense

Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?

The Department of Defense statistics are alarming – one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military.

Bring Them Home and Take Care Of Them When They Return, Now!!!

We’ve gone through all of this before, this time Learn From The Mistakes and Incompetence of those we Call Our Leaders, Never Again!!!